SWD | Our Mission

Our Mission

Sailors with disABILITIES is committed to changing society's perception of people with disabilities. Harbour sailing, ocean racing, the youth program and the inshore and coastal training program are just some of the ways of achieving this. Our vision is to take ownership of our circumstances and create vehicles to demonstrate what can be achieved.

SWD's mission is to heighten community awareness of the disabled. SWDs members believe that disabled people are capable of participating in active and responsible roles within society and should be treated as equals.

SWD is here for the long haul and we WILL make a difference.

The co-founder of Sailors with disABILITIES, David Pescud, could never accept being "written off" because of his own disability. He was more interested in what you CAN do rather than what you CAN'T do.

A keen sailor, David and others, had a thought: "What if a yacht could be crewed by disabled people and raced successfully. This would encourage all disabled people to 'have a go' ".

This thought became a reality in 1994, when he and others founded the charity organisation "Sailors with disABILITIES" - SWD. He used his own yacht "Carpe Diem" an Adams-Radford 54 footer. It was sponsored by Aspect Computing. This later proved to be a valuable union for both the sponsor and the disabled.

SWD invites the disabled, especially kids, to join the crew and race. Some of them have come from remote outback communities and had never even seen the sea, let alone sailed on a top Grand Prix ocean racing yacht.

Incredibly, the Aspect Sailors with disABILITIES yacht achieved 1st in the PHS Division and 9th overline in the tragic 1998 Sydney to Hobart race. That race experienced the fiercest storms ever in the history of the race. SWD have enjoyed many other remarkable racing successes.

If you want to become involved in Sailors with disABILITIES, why not start by becoming a member. Click the button to go to the membership page for the membership form and address details.